Kim from Thrifty Little Mom is back with the most adorable way to teach young children how to manage their money — by using Save Spend Give Jars! This afternoon project takes minimal supplies to get started, and is a fun way to get the whole family on board with budgeting.

“Momma, I want that Ninja Turtle.”

“Well, you know what you have to do.”

“I have to earn some money?”

“Yep.”

“By cleaning up my toys?”

“Yes sir.”

“[Thoughtful Pause] Can we go clean my toys now?

This was a conversation that I had with my 3 year old son at Target last week. He may only be in preschool but is already capable of understanding the concept of extrinsic motivation. I want to teach him early on that if he works hard he can be rewarded. Therefore we have already created a small scale budgeting system for his hard earned cash.

High up on my bedroom dresser, I keep 3 canisters at the ready. One is for spending, one is for saving and one is for giving. When my son does a task that I assign him I pay him money (usually coins) when it is done to my satisfaction. Then I pull down the jars and let him drop his money into the ones he wants to contribute to.

If you want to go ahead and start teaching your kids about budgeting, this system is really simple and can even be a fun craft project. Here’s a rundown of how the system works and how you can make your own containers with your kids.

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